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Séamas Gray

Séamas is a restructuring and insolvency specialist with over 20 years’ experience who has advised on a wide variety of assignments from UK mid-market to some of the largest and most complex European and global financial restructurings and insolvencies.

Séamas qualified into US ‘white shoe’ law firm Cadwalader before spending some 8 years at DLA Piper and then proceeding as partner to join and jointly head the London Restructuring & Insolvency teams at Pinsent Masons and then Olswang. Prior to joining gunnercooke he worked at Penningtons Manches where he led and grew its multi-disciplinary Restructuring & Insolvency team.

Séamas possesses a great wealth of experience in complex contentious and non-contentious insolvencies and restructurings, both international and domestic. He is particularly good at getting to the crux of issues early in transactions and disputes as well and bringing the various parties together to a sensible solution that works for his client.

Whilst Séamas has acted in most industry sectors from automotive and energy to life sciences, he focusses particularly on real estate, healthcare, retail/leisure and pensions and is the only restructuring lawyer rated in Legal 500 for healthcare work.

Project Silver – Advising management and then company through UK distressed fund financed acquisition of UK group from Netherlands and ultimately US group in Chapter 11 together with a balance sheet restructuring structured through a CVA.

Project Light – Advising this high profile 31,000 resident care home group (previously part of the Bondcare Group) on its amicable separation from the rest of the Bondcare group, restructuring of its £260m bank debt (including swap break), real estate and management services reorganisation and asset recoveries followed by AMA solvent sale to US private equity fund.

Ashpol Group – Advising property portfolio group with £130 million professional securities exchange listed debt through a pre-packaged administration restructuring.

Peverel Group – Advised Chamonix and Electra on the administration acquisition of the business and assets of the UK’s leading residential property management services group (£125 million of debt, 4,200 employees and over 200,000 residential units).

Composite Technology Corporation – Advising this United States listed global producer of wind turbines and energy efficient products in relation to the reorganisation of certain of its UK and German subsidiaries complicated by ongoing litigation in each of the United States, Germany and the UK resulting in the successful and now leading European decision (Court of Appeal) on the interpretation of Article 28 of Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 for the stay of related pending actions in different European jurisdictions.

Reader’s Digest (2010) – Advising the pension trustees of the £1.2 billion global turnover, 4,300 employee, book distributor in relation to issues arising on the Chapter 11 filing of its US parent and in relation to the Pensions Regulator.

JJB Sports Group – Acting for the lead lender of quasi-club syndicate in relation to this high profile £800m turnover, 17,000 employee, retail and fitness business through its ground-breaking CVA and the administration of part of the club group (Kaupthing).

Borders – Advising the group in relation to the restructuring of this £218m turnover, 2,000 employee, well know High Street book retailer and its ultimate sale to Hilco; then advising the group on behalf of Hilco through to its subsequent trading and ultimate administration.

MFI – Advising the directors in the lead up and post the administration of this £650m turnover, 3,100 employee, home furniture retailer.

BA Peters PLC – Advising the lender and KPMG as subsequent administrators of the largest European yacht retailer through its restructuring and successful complex trust issues including dealing with the directions application at Court of Appeal level.

DANA – Advising directors of UK group in relation to the work out, European cash pooling and pension restructuring of this international car parts manufacturer.

Unwins Group – Acting for KPMG administrators of this 400 outlet licenced retailer.

WorldCom – Advising EMEA directors through the workout of this global media business.

Enron – Acting for General Motors (including representation on the creditors’ committee) in relation to significant aluminium trading debt recoveries.

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